Memories of Old
by draco.luver.forever
Summary: Two lovers, star struck and lost, reminisce about their times together. They take us back to their world and the time that they spent together. What is this deadly task that he must complete and why can neither forget about each other? HGDM
1. The First Time They Met

**Description: Two lovers, star struck and lost, reminisce about their times together. What is this deadly task that he must complete and why can neither forget about each other? HG/DM**

**This should be a fairly short story. I had originally meant to make it into a one shot but it was so deep that I had to make it into a short story with a few chapters. It mainly involves memories as both think about their times together. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!**

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**The First Time They Met**

_Click, click, click_

The clock ticked loudly on her bed stand as she sat there absent-mindedly staring at the digits.

_4:59_

It was almost 5:00, which meant 5 hours had passed since the last time she would ever see him again. She furiously wiped away a tear that was slowly falling down her cheek. No, she was not going to cry. She _couldn't _cry. She had promised herself that. What was he to her? Absolutely nothing! He was just some egotistical pain in the arse that had caused her enough grief to last her a life time.

A pain in the arse that she happened to love. That's right, _love_. What did the word mean? Hermione certainly didn't know until she had met him. She laughed silently at how cliché that sounded but it was true. She could still smell the exhaust as she stood on that train station 6 years ago.

"_Bye mom! Bye dad!" she waved frantically as she proceeded to get on the train._

"_Bye sweetie!" said her mom happily through tears. "Write to us everyday!" _

_Hermione blew a kiss to her mom and got on the scarlet steam engine. The inside of the train was a bustling mess of students, new and old, that were struggling to find their friends or an empty compartment. Hermione sighed, she knew no one because she was a muggleborn and didn't even know she was a witch until she had received the letter. She decided that she would sit near a friendly face and try her best to make friends._

_She walked down the aisle of the train and stopped near a compartment that had three boys and a girl in it. _

"_Excuse me, may I please sit here?" she asked as politely as she could._

_The pug faced girl just sneered, "Hah, no way! This compartment is for future Slytherins only!" _

"_Slytherins?" Hermione had read all about the four houses of Hogwarts and Slytherin was the nastiest one. "Oh, that's fine then. I'll find somewhere else to sit." _

_She turned around and started walking away, unaware of the pair of silver eyes that were staring at her unwaveringly. She next found a compartment with a round faced boy in it. He looked worried about something so she decided to ask him what the matter was._

"_I lost my toad, Trevor. And now my grandma is sure to get cross. I simply must find him!" he said hysterically._

"_Not to worry, I'll help you find him. What's your name?" _

"_Neville, my name is Neville. Neville Longbottom." _

"_Well, it's nice to meet you Neville, I'm Hermione Granger." _

_And so, after introductions, she proceeded to find the toad. She found a compartment that had two boys in it, one with fiery red hair and another with unkempt jet black hair. She decided that they seemed friendly enough and decided to ask them if they had seen a toad._

"_Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." _

"_No, sorry," said the boy with the jet black hair._

"_Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter!" she said excitedly to the boy._

_She quickly went to sit down across from him. "I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?" she asked pointedly to the red haired boy._

"_I'm…Ron Weasley," he replied with a mouth full of chocolate frog._

"_Pleasure," she then chatted with them for a few moments and went on to continue her quest for the toad. She came out of the compartment and crashed right into someone. She began to fall so she closed her eyes tightly, but the ground never came because she found herself being caught by a pair of strong arms. She opened her eyes and saw the startled look on the pale boy's face._

"_Uh…watch yourself next time," he let her go quickly and continued into the compartment that contained Harry and Ron accompanied by two abnormally large boys. Hermione watched him go into the cubicle with a sort of dazed expression. She stood outside the room and listened to the conversation going on within. Hermione learned that the pale boy's name was Draco Malfoy and that he wanted to be friends with Harry Potter._

"What a nice guy_," she thought with a smile. _

_She listened on for a few moments and realized that Harry and Ron were turning down the boy's offer of friendship. _

_Draco Malfoy stormed out of the compartment and was startled to see her. He stopped dead in his tracks and he just stared at her for a while. He shook his head after a few moments and just walked off in the other direction._

"What a strange lad_," she thought to herself._

Hermione smiled after this flashback. That was the first time that she had ever been so captured by a member of the opposite sex. Just something about him had made her interested in him. She didn't know what it was or why he fascinated her so much. He was just someone that could make her tear her hair out for hours on end and still she couldn't conclude anything about him. He had a way of complicating things for her. She sighed and laid her head down on the pillow. She reminisced some more as the tears rolled down her face.

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_Tick, tock, tick, tock_

His watch ticked loudly in the silence of the train compartment. He had been staring absent-mindedly at the wall in front of him. He looked at his watch.

_4:59_

It was almost 5:00, and that meant that it had been 5 hours since the last time he would ever see her again. He sighed, he knew that he shouldn't be thinking about her, not now, not ever. She had caused him enough pain and sorrow. But she had also brought something to life inside of him that he thought had long been dead. He smiled distractedly as he remembered the very first time he had seen her. Coincidentally, it had been on a train, not very unlike the one he was sitting in right now.

"_Come Draco!" squealed his childhood friend, Pansy Parkinson from the steps of the train, "You're going to miss the train!"_

"_I'm coming, I'm coming!" he grumbled as he lugged his huge trunk onto the scarlet steam engine._

_He waved good bye to his mother and father who were standing a few meters away. His mother waved back happily but his father just stood there like stone._

_He stepped on to the train, and onto a new chapter of his life. He was going to learn spells and enchantments that would help him become powerful. He smiled as he followed Pansy into a compartment. Another two of his friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, joined them a few minutes later._

"_This is going to be great!" Pansy said as she jumped up and down in excitement. "We're going to learn spells, and…and potions, and so many things! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait! And we're going to be in Slytherin just like our fathers!" _

"_Yes, it's going to be fantastic," he drawled smoothly. _

_They were interrupted by a girl that seemed to be about their age. _

"_Excuse me, may I please sit here?" she asked ever so politely._

_Draco opened his mouth to answer, but Pansy beat him to it._

"_Hah, no way! This compartment is for future Slytherins only!" she sneered nastily._

_A momentary look of hurt crossed her face but it soon disappeared. "Oh, that's fine then. I'll find somewhere else to sit." _

_She turned around and began walking away. Draco turned to Pansy who had immediately began talking again._

"_Omigoodness did u see her hair! It was like a cat had died on her head! And her shoes. Oh they were awful! Didn't you think so Drakie Poo?"_

_Draco said, "Oh sure, why not? If you'll excuse me, I'm going to just wander around the train to see what mischief I can cause." He winked before getting up and walking out of the compartment._

_He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to see that girl. He found her in a compartment with a round faced boy. He stood outside the compartment and listened in on the conversation. _

_Apparently, the boy's name was Neville and he had lost a toad. He didn't care about that really, but he also had discovered that her name was Hermione Granger. She stepped out of the compartment after she agreed to help find the lost toad, and she began walking so fast that she didn't even notice him standing there._

_He decided to follow her around some more. Draco saw her stop in front of another compartment. He peered inside for a few seconds and found it to be occupied by a Weasley and a new boy. A momentary look at his forehead as he exposed it to the Weasley showed him to be Harry Potter. _

"This will not do_," he thought to himself, "_Harry Potter cannot be hanging out with riff raff like the Weasleys! Has the man got no pride?_"_

_Draco decided that he was going to save Potter from the terrible mistake he was about to make. He proceeded back to his compartment to get Crabbe and Goyle and he would return later to introduce himself to Potter._

_A few moments later, he was marching back towards Potter's compartment with Crabbe and Goyle. He noticed that Hermione was walking out of it, but it was too late as she collided with him and began falling to the ground. Her eyes were scrunched up tighlyt as if she were falling from atop a high tower. Draco's reflexes kicked in and he immediately caught her before she fell and hurt herself. _

_She opened her eyes and stared at him. He was at a loss for words._

"_Uh…watch yourself next time," he said and quickly let go of her and walked into the compartment. He introduced himself to the two boys inside and discovered that the Weasley's name was Ron. He made it known to Potter that he needed to make the right choices when it came to friends and even extended his own hand in friendship. But Potter made it known to him that he could pick his own friends quite well thank you very much._

_Draco Malfoy stormed out of the compartment and was startled to see that girl, Hermione or something, right outside. He stopped in his tracks. He didn't know what it was about her that intrigued him. She looked ordinary enough. She had chocolate colored eyes and brown frizzy hair. Something about her just captured his attention. Maybe it was the way her eyes widened when she was excited or surprised or the way her eyes scrunch up tightly when she was frightened. And how did he know all this about her? He had been watching her throughout the entire train ride and had accumulated many details about her. The way she walked, the way she talked, the way that she moved her hands when she talked._

_He shook his head, what was going on? He didn't even know who the hell this girl was. Not her personality, not her breeding, not anything about her besides what he had deduced by following her around for a while. He shook his head again to snap himself out of it and walked back to his compartment to get ready to get off the train._

He smiled as he remembered everything about her that day in vivid detail. He was bewitched by her in every sense. She had captured his interest so entirely that he would never forget her throughout the next years ofhis life.

He sighed as he laid his head back and closed his eyes momentarily. He really hoped he survived this mission because he felt so empty and lost without her. As he remembered more about her, he drifted off into a dreamful slumber. What a surprise, his dreams all revolved around her.

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**Well, that was the first chapter. Not much action. I just wanted to have a base before I got carried away. Anyways, please leave a review!**


	2. That Day in Transfiguration Class

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed…a whole TWO people! It's all good, I love you two for reviewing. And now here's chapter two. It's a bit short and a bit on the boring side. Not too boring I hope. Enjoy!

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**That Day in Transfiguration Class**

She woke up as a light blinked in her face. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at her alarm clock.

_7:00_

She had been asleep for about 2 hours. The time passed so slowly without him. She sniffed loudly and looked around her room. There were pictures of her, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the others peering at her from the walls. There weren't any pictures of him. That was quite obviously because if anyone came in, they would freak out on her. No, she kept an extra drawer full of albums with just the two of them and the memories they had made together.

She opened that drawer now and took out an album. She began to laugh as she looked at each picture, remembering the sound of his voice, the smell of his cologne, the looks on his face. She came to a particular picture that was taken back in their second year. They weren't really friends or even good acquaintances back then but she had managed to take a picture of him when he wasn't looking. Yes, very stalker-like, she knew, but she couldn't help it. He was bent over doing his work (in transfiguration class she presumed, she didn't really care) with his hair slicked back and glistening in the light. His silver eyes were focused and concentrating on turning a bird into a water goblet. She could remember that day as if it were only yesterday.

"_Turn to page 453 where there is a detailed explanation of what we will be doing today. Today, we will be turning animals into water goblets. Ah, Mr. Weasley, let's try you. One…two…three…feraverto," said Professor McGonagall to Ron as she approached him after demonstrating the task at hand._

_Ron nodded and took out his wand. He cleared his throat and began casting his spell, "Feraverto!" Unfortunately, he hadn't pronounced the spell properly and on top of that, his wand was broken and had been taped down with selo tape. The rat he was trying to transfigure turned into a hairy goblet with a moving tail instead of a stem. The entire class burst out laughing._

_Hermione suddenly thought of something and raised her hand to ask the professor about it. "Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about…the chamber of secrets." _

_The whole class quieted down and looked at the professor expectantly and curiously. Professor McGonagall looked flustered but decided to answer the question._

"_Very well then. Well, all of you know that Hogwarts was founded many years ago by the four greatest wizards and witches of the century: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders existed quite harmoniously with each other, one, however did not." _

"_Three guesses who," said Ron._

_The professor ignored him and continued, "Slytherin wanted to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts, but the other three would always object. It was rumored that he built a hidden chamber inside the very walls of this castle with a monster concealed inside the chamber that only the heir of Slytherin can control. The heir would release the monster, and by so doing, purge the school of all those, who in Slytherin's view, were unfit to study magic." _

"_Muggleborns," Hermione finished for her. The professor nodded._

"_Of course, the school has been searched many times, and no such chamber has been found." _

"_Professor, what exactly, does legend say, lies within the chamber?" asked Hermione._

"_It is said to be the home of a monster," said the professor in a voice that sent chills through the classroom. _

_Hermione felt a pair of eyes on her back the entire time the professor was talking. She turned around and her chocolate eyes met with cold silver ones. He seemed to have a mixture of emotions present in his eyes. Hermione couldn't really tell what he was trying to convey, but she did catch the look from him that clearly said 'you're next.' It sent a sudden chill down her spine. She turned around to face the front of the room, but found that she could not concentrate for the rest of the class period._

Hermione remembered with clarity the immense fright that was present in her that year. It was the year that the basilisk was set loose and was attempting to kill off all the muggleborns at Hogwarts. Every single time someone would get petrified, she couldn't help but fear that she was next. It was also the year the she had feared that Draco was actually evil; that _he _might actually have been the heir of Slytherin. Of course, after the whole incident, she couldn't believe that she had even considered such a notion.

He may have hated muggleborns, but she knew that he could never cause intentional harm to anyone. He was harmless, but boasted a strong demeanor. He was so very intimidating, and just the thought of him made her shiver. She remembered all the times they had together. If only they had lasted forever.

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He woke up with a start as the train gave a jolt. He groggily looked at the window and found that they had just stopped for a few minutes. They would be on their way soon enough. He looked at his watch. 

_7:00_

He looked at the ground by the train tracks and saw a slithering object in the dirt. He squinted and saw that it was a snake. He shivered; it was a harmless snake, but every time he saw one, he remembered the horrible happenings of that one year where it seemed that all hell had broken loose.

Of course, everyone had thought it was his entire fault because he seemed to be the perfect scapegoat. Were people seriously that stupid? He couldn't harm an ant let alone a human being. Ok, so maybe that's a bit exaggerated. He could hurt an ant but you get the point. He was quite harmless. Draco remembered that one day where the entire story suddenly became clear to him. That one day in Transfiguration class.

_Draco had been staring blankly at the front of the Transfiguration classroom as Professor McGonagall explained the lesson to them. He watched inattentively as she turned a bird into a pristine water goblet. He also watched as she approached Weasley and asked him to demonstrate. Draco suddenly snapped to attention._

"This should be a good laugh or two_," he thought with a smirk._

_He watched as Ron turned his rat into a hairy goblet with a moving tail as a stem, and laughed along with the rest of the class. He stopped laughing when a hand shooting up into the air caught his attention. It was that bookworm, Granger. _

"What does she want_," thought Draco, "_does she want to show us how it's _properly_ done?_" He snorted._

_Apparently, Granger had something else on her mind. He heard her ask something about the chamber of secrets. His head immediately snapped to the professor as he saw her debate about whether or not she should object at her impertinency._

_No, the professor began describing in great detail the legend of the chamber of secrets. She told every single aspect of the legendary story that Draco knew so well because it had been told to him countless times. So instead of focusing on the professor, he looked at Granger as her face became paler and paler by the second._

_He stared at her for the few minutes Professor McGonagall was telling the tale in great detail and he found that Granger was frightened. This was news to him. Since when was the bookworm frightened? She knew practically every spell from here to Timbuktu, and she is certainly not defenseless. He watched her in deep interest, and she must have felt his eyes boring into the back of her head because she turned around a few seconds later. Their eyes met and he felt a jolt go through him. He tried his best to keep his expression indifferent, and he found that he could not look away. She looked at him with a confused expression as if she were trying to read into the depths of his soul. He quickly put on a nasty smirk that clearly told her 'you're next.' She obviously got the idea because she turned around quickly and looked straight ahead._

_Once her back was to him, Draco collapsed in his seat and took a deep breath. One look in her eyes took his breath away, quite literally. He didn't know what was going on with him. She was a mudblood and he was a pureblood. They were completely different breeds of human, in his eyes. So why did she provoke such interest in him? He certainly had no idea, and he certainly did not want to find out. Professor McGonagall set a bird in front of him, and he immediately began working to turn it into a water goblet to take his mind off the disturbing issues. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't even notice a sudden flash come from somewhere in front of him._

He laughed as he remembered the day she showed him the picture she had taken of him that day in secret. The picture showed him with his brow scrunched up in frustration and he was biting his lip hard. That was the day that he had started becoming frightened. Not for him, but for _her_. She was in danger and he knew it, and he was so worried the day that she was hospitalized. He wouldn't have admitted that he was concerned back then, but he didn't fear to admit it now. Things had changed. _They_ had changed. Above all, _he_ had most definitely changed. She was everything to him now, and she always had been. He was just too stupid to acknowledge it before.

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**So, I have decided how this story is going to go. Well, if you didn't notice in the first chapter, the two are in their sixth year now. I have decided that I am going to describe one memory from each year, and each chapter will be one memory. I already did the memory from the 1st year in chapter one, and this chapter was the memory from the second year, and the next chapter will be a memory from their third year, and so on and so forth. I hope you get the picture. The memories will end at the sixth year, and I will probably add another chapter to wrap things up. Ultimately, I am aiming to make this story about 7 chapters long. How does that sound? Please leave a review!**


	3. Of Hippogriffs and Mudbloods

**Hey everyone, I haven't updated in a while but here's the next chapter!**

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**Of Hippogriffs and Mudbloods**

_3:00_

She stared at the blinking digits on her clock. It was pretty late at night. She couldn't get out of bed even though she wasn't tired. She had been thinking of him, and of what must be happening to him right now. She hoped that he was safe.

She clutched her stomach as she began to feel queasy. She got out of bed quickly and hobbled to the bathroom adjacent to her room. She opened the toilet lid and heaved out her insides over and over again until she felt better. Hermione just sat there for a few moments as she flushed the toilet, and remembered him some more. She smiled as she remembered how helpless he really was. That had become apparent in that one year. The year that she finally acknowledged her true feelings.

"_Do you think that Professor Trelawney actually knows what she's talking about? This grim business seems a little queer to me," said Ron thoughtfully as they made their way down the grounds towards Care of Magical Creatures._

"_Oh please. It's pure rubbish! I've never heard of a dodgier subject. 'Use your inner eye to see the future!' That old bat has no idea what she's talking about. She's all talk I'm telling you. Honestly, see into the future?" Hermione shook her head in laughter._

"_You just don't like her because she said that Divination couldn't be learned through books," Ron said pointedly._

_Hermione ignored him and stared at her watch, "We had better hurry up if we want to get down to class in time for Hagrid's first class." _

_They continued to descend towards Hagrid's hut where a group of students had already assembled. _

"_Gather roun', gather roun'. Got an excitin lesson today. Follow me," said Hagrid as he led them into a small clearing in the forest. "Oh and open your books to page 384." _

"_And exactly how do we do that?" said Malfoy as he stepped haughtily into the clearing._

"_You stroke the spine o course!" said Hagrid as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. Malfoy stroked the spine and saw his book begin to relax; he then sneered and continued on his way to put his bag down._

_A sudden commotion caught everyone's attention. Neville's book had begun to snap wildly at him as pages flew in every direction and he fell to the ground. _

"_Don't be such a wimp Longbottom," Malfoy said._

"_I'm ok! I'm alright!" said Neville before he fell to the ground again._

"_You're supposed to stroke the spine!" said Ron with a smile._

"_Yeah, right," said Neville out of breath._

_Hermione put her bag down on the ground, "I think they're funny." _

"_Oh yeah, terribly funny. Really witty," sneered a voice from behind, "Wait till my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes," Malfoy said nodding his head toward Hagrid._

_Harry advanced menacingly, "Shut up Malfoy."_

"_Oooooooh," said Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy took off his bag and began walking toward Harry in a very arrogant manner. He strode until he was a few inches from Harry and looked up. A sudden look of terror overcame his immaculate features and he started yelling, "Dementor, Dementor!"_

_Everyone looked around in fright and once it was realized that this was some kind of joke, they heard laughter from behind. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing as they began imitating dementors._

_Hermione dragged Harry off, and scowled at them before walking off. _

_Hagrid was ready to begin the lesson. He had brought in a creature that Hermione ascertained to be a Hippogriff. _

"_Tada!" said Hagrid happily._

"_Hagrid! What exactly is that?" asked Ron in wonder._

"_This, Ron, is a Hippogriff. Very proud creatures. You don ever want to provoke a Hippogriff. It may very well be the last thing you ever do."_

_The entire class shuddered._

"_Now, I reckon we should have someone come up and demonstrate!"_

_Everyone stepped back except for Harry who was unfortunately left at the front._

"_Good on yeh Harry!" boomed Hagrid cheerfully._

_Harry looked back and finally noticed that the entire class had moved back. Ron gave him a slight push to get him going in the direction of the Hippogriff. Harry advanced slowly and Hagrid gave him directions on how to act with the Hippogriff. _

_Harry bowed and waited for it to bow back. Once it did, Hagrid told Harry to go and pet it. Hermione could see the terror on Harry's face but knew that he was all right when he went up to pet it and nothing happened. Hagrid then suggested that he ride the Hippogriff and proceeded to lift Harry up onto its back._

_The entire class waited and watched in wonder as Harry and Buckbeak went around the grounds of Hogwarts and returned a few minutes later. Once Harry was back on the ground, the entire class began cheering and congratulating him on his courage and bravery._

"_Oh please," Draco said in an arrogant manner._

_He got up and began striding toward the Hippogriff._

"_You're not dangerous at all are you, you filthy animal?"_

"_Malfoy, no!" Hagrid yelled, but it was too late._

_Buckbeak reared and struck Malfoy with its big talons on his arm. Draco fell back to the ground and began writhing in pain._

"_It's killed me, it's killed me!" he screeched over and over._

_Suddenly, Hermione snapped to her senses and realized the sheer magnitude of the situation._

"_Hagrid!" she yelled, "he has to be taken to the hospital!"_

_She didn't care if anyone else noticed the concerned expression in her voice. All she cared about was making sure that Draco was ok._

"_All right then, I'll do it," Hagrid said uneasily as he lifted Malfoy up and began walking in towards the castle._

"_Class dismissed!" he boomed._

_Hermione had tears in her eyes as she began picking up her bags to continue on to her next class. She wiped at them furiously as she looked up at Harry and Ron._

The incident still brought tears to her eyes. Draco was hurt pretty badly, but Madame Pomfrey was able to heal him in a few minutes. She couldn't believe how stupid he was back then. Yet again, they were only 13 year olds; veritable children in her eyes. He, of course, had to blow the entire situation out of proportion and keep everyone thinking that he was actually still in pain weeks after the incident. He had even tried to get Hagrid fired and Buckbeak executed, but, again, he was only a child back then. With maturity comes wisdom.

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_3:00_

It was actually quite late now. Draco had been staring out the window thinking about nothing in particular because thinking was too painful. Speaking of pain, nothing was more painful physically, or so it had seemed back then, than that day when that Hippogriff had attacked him in third year.

"_I can't believe that Dumbledore is letting Hagrid teach classes!" Draco muttered angrily as he, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking down towards Hagrid's hut. "I mean, it's not like the bumbling idiot knows anything about teaching!"_

"_You're so right Draco," purred Pansy._

_That purr of hers was really beginning to annoy him. It always felt like she was trying to seduce him or something._

"_I know I'm right, which is precisely why I bother stating my opinion," he said haughtily._

_They walked through the rest of the grounds in silence. Once they got to Hagrid's hut, they joined the crowd as Hagrid explained something about going into the forest._

_He followed the crowd and heard Hagrid say something about opening the books that they were assigned. Draco winced as he recalled when he first attempted to open the book. The bloody monster tried to bite his…well, a very important member of his body._

"_Exactly how do we do that?" he grumbled angrily, the thought of the book trying to bite his privy member fresh on his mind. _

"_You stroke the spine o course," said Hagrid matter-of-factly._

_Draco stroked the spine and watched as the book relaxed in his arms. He sneered before walking into the clearing ahead._

_As he was walking, he heard Granger mention something about the books being funny._

"_Oh yeah, terribly funny, really witty," smirked Draco._

_The trio turned to look at him, and he figured he couldn't let them down if they wanted to hear a speech from him._

"_Wait until me father hears that Dumbledore's got his oaf teaching classes," he sneered._

"_Shut up Malfoy," Potter said angrily._

"_Ooohooohoooo," Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle said._

_Draco took off his bag and tilted his head to one side. He began strutting towards Potter. When he was a few feet ahead of him, he faked an extreme look of terror on his face and began screaming, "Dementor, Dementor!"_

_Everyone turned around as they fell for the trick and Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle burst out laughing as they began imitating Dementors._

_Hagrid then called the class to order and introduced them to the dreaded Hippogriff. He began explaining certain characteristics of Hippogriffs but Draco didn't bother listening. His eyes instead focused on Granger standing a few feet ahead. _

_He stared at her for a while contemplating why she was such an interesting character. Was it because she was a mudblood and a relationship between them was unimaginable? Or was it because he wanted to do something impulsive for once in his life and defy the odds? Whatever it was, it was eating at him from the inside._

_Draco then heard Hagrid call Harry's name. He snapped to attention and saw Potter approaching the Hippogriff. Draco smirked, this should be rather funny, especially if he got hurt. Hagrid told him some instructions on proper etiquette with the beast. How absurd! It was a bloody animal, but here they were discussin on how to treat a Hippogriff with respect. _

_The next thing Draco saw was Granger's hand grab Weasley's impulsively. Draco heard himself growling unintentionally at the display. He couldn't explain why it felt like a monster was suddenly being unleashed within him. He stared at Granger and Weasley for another few minutes, and he missed Potter ascending into the sky on Buckbeak's back. _

_Now there was something you didn't see every day! When Potter returned to the ground after a few minutes, everyone cheered and rushed to greet him._

_Draco was Disgusted, with a capital D._

_Still annoyed from Granger and Weasley's display from before, he stood up suddenly._

"_Oh please," he began striding toward the Hippogriff muttering, "You're not dangerous at all are you? You filthy beast."_

_Draco felt a sudden jab of pain in his right arm, and he felt himself being pushed backward. The pain was so excruciating that it blinded him. _

"_It's killed me, it's killed me!" he screamed over and over._

_He could hear Granger's voice in the distance, "Hagrid! He has to be taken to the hospital!"_

_Draco then felt himself being lifted by two big arms. That was his last coherent memory before he blacked out._

Draco laughed at how stupid he was back then. Thirteen, what an immature, young teenager he had been. But none of that mattered now. He was older and wiser. He knew what the sole purpose of his life was now. He was different. To Draco, that transition from his old young self to his new old self was the most life changing experience that had ever happened to him. More specifically, _she _had changed him and had put more meaning in his life than he could have ever hoped for.

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**Sorry for not updating in such a long time. It's just that no one really reviewed so I felt like no one really liked the story. Well, I like the story so I'm going to continue. I have a lot of work these days so I cant promise I can update quickly, but I'll try my best. Enjoy!**


	4. Growing Teeth

**Hello everyone, another chapter has arrived!! Sorry it took so long…been really busy and now it's finally winter break!!! I might be able to update more often now…hopefully…enjoy!!**

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**Growing Teeth**

Hermione was still feeling a little queasy from her stomach's sudden outburst from before. She peered at the clock from her very comfortable position on the bed.

_5:00_

It was nearly time for her to wake up and start her morning duties. She licked her lips which were dry from lack of water. In the process, she brushed them against her perfectly formed front teeth.

She smiled.

The only reason her teeth were perfectly formed was because of Draco. She fondly looked upon that day in wonder even though it wasn't a happy memory.

_POTTER STINKS_

_The blinding message flashed from a series of badges worn by the Slytherins. _

"_Do you like them Granger?" Draco sneered. "You can have one if you like, but make sure not to touch my hand. I just washed it, and I don't want a Mudblood dirtying it up." _

_Hermione gasped, but not because of Malfoy's mention of the word 'Mudblood', but because she knew that that was all the provocation Harry needed to really explode. His arguments with Ron were really getting to his head, and he had been snapping at anyone and everyone, including Hermione._

"_What did you just say Malfoy?" Harry asked menacingly._

"_You heard what I said Potter." Draco spat. "Come out and challenge me if you have the guts. Moody isn't here to protect your sorry arse."_

_Harry smiled in fond memory of Draco the ferret, "You don't fancy being turned into a ferret again do you? Very well, I'm not stupid, I'm not going to go running to Moody whenever you give me trouble."_

"_HAH, then challenge me!" Draco yelled._

_Both looked at each other with fire in their eyes, and they decided to act at the exact same moment._

"Furnunculus_!" Harry shouted._

"Densaugeo_!" Malfoy roared._

_The two jets of light hit each other in mid-air, and then ricocheted off each other. Harry's spell hit Goyle straight in the face and angry red boils began to appear all over. Goyle screamed in pain._

_Malfoy's spell, however, hit Hermione. She shrieked in pain and covered her mouth instantly. She might have imagined it but she thought the words 'Bloody Hell' had been muttered by someone._

_Ron ran forward, "Hermione!"_

_Harry rushed to her as well and began tugging at her hand which was desperately trying to keep her mouth covered. But it was no use. Harry and Ron gasped as they saw Hermione's teeth growing pas the hands covering them. Hermione had tears streaming down her face, and it was then that Harry and Ron realized that she must be in intense pain._

"_What is all this racket?" said a soft, intimidating voice._

_Harry and Malfoy immediately began explaining their sides of the stories._

"_Potter attacked me first, but it hit Goyle," said Malfoy._

"_Malfoy attacked too, but look, it hit Hermione!" said Harry desperately._

_Snape examined Goyle and calmly sent him to the hospital wing. He took one look at Hermione and said, "Well? I don't see any difference."_

_The Slytherins burst into laughter and Harry could have sworn that he saw a smirk on Snape's face. Hermione burst into tears and ran to the hospital wing still trying to cover her mouth while her teeth had now grown past her elbows._

_In her haste, she did not notice that there was one Slytherin who was definitely not laughing._

She smiled as she recalled Draco's pleas of forgiveness later on for this incident. But of course, she said that it did her more good than he could have imagined. She gingerly touched her stomach and felt something squirm. Her stomach still felt a bit strange.

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_5:00_

Draco blankly stared at his watch, no longer wondering about the time. Everything in his past seemed to be a distant memory, except for her. He grimaced as he shifted in his seat, he had been seated for such a long time and his derriere had gotten a bit sore.

He thought for a while, and then remembered a scene back in their forth year that still made him laugh, but only after he had confirmed with her that no real damage had been done. He laughed now, but he beat himself up over it for the longest time back then.

_Draco and his fellow Slytherins were looking for Potter. They had a little surprise for him, if it could very well be called a surprise. Draco snickered as he imagined Potter's reaction to the present he was about to display._

_He looked out across the grounds and saw Potter taking a stroll with Granger. She really looked rather fetching with the wind blowing through her hair and her cheeks were rosy as a result of the cold._

_But now was certainly not the time to be thinking about that. He came closer to the couple and began shouting, "Hey Potter! Look what we made just for you!"_

_He took a badge out of the box and showed it to him. The badge had bright red coloring on it saying: "Support Cedric Diggory – The REAL Hogwarts Champion!"_

"_Do you like them?" he sneered. "Look at what else they can do!"_

_He pressed the badge and instantly, the writing changed to now display in bright green the words "POTTER STINKS"._

"_How clever of you," said Hermione sarcastically._

"_Do you like them Granger?" Draco said, still snickering. "You can have one if you like, but make sure not to touch my hand. I just washed it, and I don't want a Mudblood dirtying it up." _

"Oh damn,"_ thought Draco instantly after he said it, "_that word just slipped right out my mouth!_"_

"_What did you just say?" asked Harry forebodingly._

_Unable to back down, Draco defiantly said, "You heard what I said Potter."_

_They both glared each other down, and Draco saw the intense fire in his eyes. They both reacted at the same moment._

_However, their spells bumped off each other in mid-air and did not reach their destinations. Harry's spell hit Goyle, while Draco's hit Hermione. Angry boils sprung up on Goyle's face and he cried in agony._

_Hermione gave a little whimper and covered her mouth._

"_Bloody Hell!" Draco shouted inadvertently, but quickly shut his mouth because he knew he wasn't supposed to show compassion to her._

_Harry and Ron rushed to see what was wrong with her, but Draco knew very well what was wrong with her. In a few seconds, her teeth would begin to protrude below her hands. He further cursed inside his head. He didn't mean for the spell to hit Granger, obviously, it was meant for Potter. But he couldn't stop himself from putting all the blame on his shoulders. He knew the intense pain she must be feeling right now._

_Right then, Snape appeared and demanded to know what was going on. Draco began ranting about the situation, clearly rattled by the fact that his spell hit Hermione but he hoped that no one realized that much._

_Snape sent Goyle to the hospital wing and then turned to Hermione. What he said to her next made his blood chill._

"_Well? I don't see any difference," he sneered._

_Draco's comrades howled with laughter, as if it were the funniest thing they had ever heard in their lives. Malfoy tried to force himself to laugh along, but he felt that he couldn't. What the hell was his problem? That bastard Snape stopped at nothing to make Hermione feel worthless and unwanted._

_Draco just wanted to grab her and comfort her and never let go as he saw her running to the hospital wing bursting into tears. _

"_Damnation," he cursed under his breath._

_And what the hell was wrong with him? Draco had never felt compassion for anyone except for himself. What was going on? He felt something stir within him, like an awakening, and it dawned on him. Could this be the foreign concept called love? The very feeling he tried so hard to be immune to because hurt accompanied it, had very much consumed his very soul._

_He no longer was that little boy who provoked for fun. He considered himself a fool now, for not being able to guard his heart, and he hated how his heart had surrendered to the one person who he could never love. Matters of the heart were truly making him weak._

Draco sighed. He became a man on that very day. By realizing his feelings for her, he allowed himself to become stronger, not weaker like he had first presumed. The next few years would torment him so much because he couldn't stand her with anyone else. Jealousy consumed his very being, along with the love he felt for her.

What kind of a man surrenders his heart to a woman who he knew could never love him in return? Heartbreak was sure to follow, but at that time, Draco knew that he didn't care. He was too much in love with Granger to care that she might not harbor the same feelings for him.

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**Whew, that was an immensely boring chapter, but it was essential to the plot…well, not that essential but I needed for Draco to realize his true feelings for her at some point didn't I? What better time than right in the middle of the story? Haha, anyways…please leave a review…**


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